At 12:30, Tuesday morning, I was startled awake by the sound of crushing metal, tires spinning and glass breaking. Then a sudden sound of my son running down the stairs, waking up my husband, Joel, and both rushing outside.
Next door at the church Joel is serving, a pickup had ripped through an iron handrail and then crashed into the church building. The driver attempted to flee the scene, but was quickly apprehended by the police, and arrested for drunk driving.
The sirens, lights, noise, and adrenaline kept me awake. When I did doze, it was only for short spurts. Usually, I can brush these types of situations off, but not now with so much that is crazy and unexpected happening in our world. I could not make the mental leap to let it go.
I know what this is – I am unsettled. This is not the first time I have felt this way in recent months, nor will it be the last. It is the acknowledgement that there is a lot of unexpectedness lately in life of which we have all witnessed firsthand.
Once I am unsettled, it can be difficult to find the groove of peace again. There are three things I do that help me “settle” into Christ, I:
- take some deep breathes – reminding myself that I am God’s beloved
- offer up prayers of gratitude
- recite this Scripture verse, “I have told you these things, so that in Me, you may have peace in this world. You will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world!” John 16:33.
I hope and pray that when life is unsettling, that these three tools help you to find the peace that Jesus offers. Amen.
May this devotion provide you with a moment of faithful reflection and care. You are involved in ministries of justice and witness, in ministries of standing up and standing with people working to create better systems and communities, in ministries of learning and searching and researching to become more aware and awakened, more technologically savvy and proficient, more virtually and personally present in your churches and communities and world. Each of us who serve as members of your Wisconsin Cabinet write these devotions in grateful prayer for you – for sustenance and buoyancy, for strength and courage, for safety and just actions, and for faith and love to be full and fulfilled in your daily lives. God’s grace and blessings, God’s challenge and healthy discomfort, God’s Spirit and energy be with you, in the hope Christ offers us all.